Car-brake



T. o. MILLER. GAB BRAKE.

(Applicatinnflled Feb. 23, 1897.) (N o H o d e I Patented Jan. 24, I899.

2 Sheets-Sheet I.

6 V I J L -5; Y J

a ,-7 Y' r m i L .5 3 I 1E J 4/ k l. gzmnnm Z J I I E A 2, E I z:'

Patentedxlan. 24. I899. T. 0. MILLER.

GAR BRAKE.

(Application filed Feb. 23, 1897.)

2.Sheets-Sheet 2- (No Model.)

. I I I 9 h nII/II 'rA'rns Uivrrnn THOMAS O. MILLER, OF HOUSTON, TEXAS.

CAR-BRAKE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 618,230, dated January24, 1899.

Application filed February 23, 1897. Serial No. 624,635. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS O. MILLER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Houston, in the county of Harris and State of Texas, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Oar-Brakes and I dohereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact descriptionof the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to whichit appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to brakes for cars or other vehicles, and has forits object to so construct the same that its operation will be quick,effectual, and great leverage power be furnished.

lVith these and other objects in view my invention consists in theconstruction, arrangement, and combination of parts and in the variousdetails thereof, as will be first fully pointed out in the specificationand then claimed.

In the drawings forming a part of this speci fication,and inwhich likesymbols of reference represent corresponding parts in the several views,Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of inyimproved brake. Fig. 2 is asimilar view, partly in section. Fig. 3 is a plan view of theratchet-wheel case, partly broken away, showing a different form ofspring for actuating the pins or pawls. Fig. 4 is a sectional plan viewon line l 4.- of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a similar view to Fig. 4 on line 5 5of Fig. 1. Fig. 6 shows pawl and ratchet-wheel for holding the brakewhen being operated. Fig. 7 is a plan view of a modification of spindleupon which are journaled bevelgears for communicating motion from one ofthe gears to another. Fig. 8 is a view of one of the bevel-gears; andFig. 9 is a modification of the device, the ratchet wheel case beingpartly broken away to show the interior thereof, the locking spring-pinsbeing located at top and bottom of the gears instead of at the sides.

A represents the fioor of the platform of the car B,the dash-rail of thesame; O,the ratchetwheel case, and D the lever for operating the same.

E is the rod or shaft that runs from the ratchet to the clutch; E, thespool upon which the brake-chain is wound.

b is the top bevel and ratchet wheel, keyed to the rod E'; b, the bottombevel and ratchet wheel, loose on sleeve F, and 0 gears forcommunicating motion from the upper to the lower gears b b. d is theshaft on which bevels c are journaled, said shaft being screwed ontosleeve F and having nuts d for holding said bevels on the same.

ff are spring pins or pawls for upper and lower gears, having springs ffor actuating the same, said pawls locking the ratchet or bevel wheelswhen the lever is operated, the upper ratchet running from left to rightand the lower from right to left, as will be apparent from the drawings.Thus it will be seen that when the lever D is operated the casing C willbe rotated, carrying the gear Z) and shaft E to the right, winding thechain upon the spool E; The gear I) in the meantime is locked againstforward motion with relation to the casing by pawl f but said pawl whenthe casing is rotated rides freely over the teeth of gear bf. The sleeveF being normally locked against rearward motion by the pawl 71, it willbe apparent that when the crank-handle is operated only a forward motionis possible, and when it is desired to release the brake the pawl it maybe thrown out of engagement with the ratchet J or the foot-pin bedepressed, allowing the spool to unwind.

G is the bottom of the ratchet-casing, which is secured upon sleeve F bybeing screwed upon the same and is provided with internal screw-threadsg, which engage with external threads upon the sleeve, and beingprovided with set screw or screws 9 H is a plate that fits around sleeveF and fastens thesame to the dash.

J is a ratchet-wheel keyed to sleeve F and engaged by dog h, pivoted onthe platform of the car.

K is a sleeve or hearing connected to the platform by means of screws orbolts j, the shaft E being journaled in the same.

K K represent the upper and lower portions of the clutch by means ofwhich the device is locked and unlocked at pleasure by foot-pin k, theclutch K being held'normally locked by means of spring 7t.

m is a pin connecting the lower portion of the clutch K with spool E,said spool portion of the shaft being separate from the upper portion.

M M are brackets which brace and hold the device in place, said bracketsbeing attached by suitable bolts on m to the under side of the platform.Q P is a bracketin which lever 70 is journaled, said bracket beingsecured by suitable bolts on the under side of the platform. The outerend of the lever 70 is preferably forked, so as to embrace the collar orclutch K, being held in place on the same by means of flange p on theclutch.

R is a screw-bolt entering the spool E and adapted to attach thebrake-chain S thereto. The lower end of shaft E is made square, as alsothe upper portion of the clutch K, so as to prevent it rotating on theshaft, but permitting a limited vertical movement of the same. On theupper end of the shaft E is an annular groove to correspond with aninternal groove on the top of the ratchet-wheel case, said grooves beingfor the purpose of receiving bearing-balls t.

In Fig. 3 is shown a difierent form of spring for actuating thespring-pins; but I prefer the form shown in Fig. 1, as the tension ofthe springs may be regulated.

The operation of my device is as follows: By turning the lever D theratchet-casing is rotated, communicating motion to the gears within,which in turn operate the shaft and the brake-chain is wound thereon. Asalready stated, the gear I) is keyed to shaft E, and the pawls f lockingthe same against backward motion the rotation of the casing C willoperate said gear, which communicates motion to gears c, which in turnoperate gear 1), said gear I) being locked against forward motion. Thenit is desired to release the same, the foot-pin is depressed and themechanism is immediately set free; or, if desired, the dog It may bereleased (which is normally locked) from the ratchet-wheel J by the footof the motorman, so that the sleeve F will be freed, and only partiallyor wholly release the brake, as desired.

In Fig. 9 is shown a modification of the ratchet arrangement, the samehaving ratchets at top and bottom instead of at the sides,

the operation being the same as that hitherto referred to in mypreferred form.

Having now fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desireto secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a brake, the combination with the lever, of a shaft adapted to berotated by said lever, a sleeve surrounding the shaft, a ratchetwheelkeyed to the sleeve and adapted to be locked or unlocked by means of apawl, a series of gears, a casing inclosing said gears and havinginterlocking mechanism connected therewith, so that the brake-chain maybe wound and automatically locked, a clutch on the shaft, and a foot-pinand lever for throwing said clutch out of operative position.

2. In a brake, the combination with the lever, of a shaft adapted to berotated by said le ver, a sleeve surrounding the shaft, a ratchetwheelkeyed to the sleeve and adapted to be locked or unlocked by means of apawl, a series of gears, a casing inclosing said gears and havinginterlocking mechanism connected therewith, so that the brake-chain maybe wound and automatically locked, a clutch on the shaft, a foot-pin andlever for throwing said clutch out of operative position, a spring tonormally hold the clutch locked, a spool connected With the lowerportion of the clutch, and brackets supporting said clutch and spoolbelow the platform of the car.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

THOMAS O. MILLER.

Witnesses:

W. W. LUNN, J. F. TAYLOR.

